


Explosives and Napalm

by Albarquq



Series: Inħobbok [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Bonding, Denial of Feelings, F/M, Fanart, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Death, Occasional Descriptions of Violence, Pre-Canon, Strong Female Characters, sad pasts and different coping mechanisms
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-07-10 16:42:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15953393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Albarquq/pseuds/Albarquq
Summary: A collection of short stories and one-shots set before the main lore events. They are focused on Jamison "Junkrat" Fawkes and his first bodyguard, Azra "Aitna" Faraci. Timeline goes from 2068 to 2073, the year Junkrat hires Roadhog.[Jamison felt weird, as if he wasn’t alone.As weak as he felt for the lack of food, his senses were fully alert: if someone decided to attack, he would’ve put up a fight. A rustle followed by a soft “thump” behind him made Junkrat quickly turn, ready to trigger his frag launcher.]This collection serves as the starting point of a series I am working on, with more characters and pairings. English isn’t my first language and sadly I have no beta readers, so apologies for any possible mistake you might find! ❤





	1. The Beginning

[South Italy, 14th August 2068]

After months of traveling, Junkrat didn’t even know in which country he was anymore - he passed through so many different cities and villages (each with their own language) that he had lost count of them; from the wasteland where his home in Junkertown was to forests, coasts, mountains and plains.  
All he knew was that he had to find water and something to eat as his food and water reserves were completely deplenished.

Wherever he was at the moment, Jamison was lucky enough to find a small maquis he could use to protect himself from the intense sun but (as many things in life are) it was a double-edged sword: the trees and bushes offered protection, yes, but they also made it hard to spot any potential ill-intentioned person...

_Clunk, clunk, clunk._

The echo of his peg leg was mitigated by the dry soil, but not much - still too loud for his liking, its contrast with the natural sounds of the birds chirping and the trees’ leaves dancing in the wind made him feel exposed.  
Drops of sweat fell down his forehead, neck and shoulders and Junkrat mentally cursed himself for running out of water and food: in the Australian Outback, such weather was nothing special... If you were prepared.

Jamison felt weird, as if he wasn’t alone.  
As weak as he felt for the lack of food, his senses were fully alert: if someone decided to attack, he would’ve put up a fight.  
A rustle followed by a soft “thump” behind him made Junkrat quickly turn, ready to trigger his frag launcher. The man walked towards a bush and, upon further inspection, he concluded that the noise was caused by... A rock?  
Something violently hit the hand that held the weapon, making Junkrat drop it istantly - once again he turned, but this time someone attacked him, falling from a nearby tree and punching him in one eye.

Jamison fell on the ground, covering said eye.  
A woman towered on him: her face was vaguely masculine, with an aquiline nose and thick eyebrows; everything framed by a mane of curly, almost coily, black hairs. She wore an equally black tank top and dark green camo pants.

“W-what the HELL, mate?! What’s the big idea?”  
“Tu cu si? Chi fai cca?! [1]”

Her voice was imposing and so were her olive green eyes staring into his. Jamison felt as if a pair of knives were holding him down.

“Mate... I understood NOTHING of what you just said”  
“Vàia, si lùoccu [2]... Are you a tourist?”  
“Kinda... Wait, do you speak English?”  
“A bit”  
“So... What’s your name, you bewt lookin’ thing?”  
“Azra. Azra Yasmin Faraci”

Azra kneeled down, grabbed one of his arms and pulled him up with ease - she was fairly muscular and curvy, but once they were close and standing, it was obvious the woman was much, much shorter than him.

“That was a nice punch mate... Gave me a blinker” Junkrat pointed at his left eye, which was swelling while assuming a reddish color - “I’m Jamison Fawkes, also known as Junkrat! You got a pretty funny name”  
“... Tipico Americano, pensi chi tuttu all'infuori do' to' paìsi fussi stranu [3] “

He wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not (the way she said it had an obvious note of disdain), but she smiled at him mischievously, showing the gap right in the middle of the upper front teeth.  
Azra started to slowly circle Junkrat, looking at him from top to bottom.

“So... Are you from the USA?”  
“Nah, I’m from Australia”  
“Oh. I see now. Sorry for earlier, I thought you were... Trying to ambush me or something. I had to act before you could do anything to me”  
“Ambush you? Why? You got some treasure on you, mate?”  
”Let’s put it this way”

Azra stopped right in front of him and smiled even wider than before, but there was no happiness on her face - only anger.

“For some guys, I might have something they feel entitled to, just because they’ve been nice to me. Or, just because I am a woman, they think they can own me” - she muttered, through gritted teeth - “It wouldn’t be the first time someone follows me around, and it wouldn’t be the first time I make them _pay_. Intendi?”  
“I.. I see mate, I’m sorry... I understand as I am in a similar situation”  
“Oh, are you now?”  
“Yah, I’ve got some creditors back home and I decided to put some distance between us...”  
“That’s really NOT the same thing”  
“Ah...”

After one long minute of awkward silence, Azra picked up the backpack she left near the tree she fell from and started to walk away.

“Well, it was nice to meet you. Salutamu, insellimlek, goodbye”  
“No!”

She stopped and raised her eyebrows, surprised.

“... Chi bbo? What?”  
“I... I need help mate, I am alone, got no one back home either...”  
“Why would I want to help a stranger? What do I get out of this?”  
“... A new friend?”

He smiled at her, hopeful.

“Eeeeehhh... I guess having an extra pair of eyes around can’t be bad”  
“Is that a yes, mate?”  
“Yeah”

Junkrat started to hop around, enthusiastically, and the two sealed their “alliance” with a handshake: his fair, sunburned skin made a stark contrast with hers, very tan and with olive undertones.

“Just a moment, carino”  
“Yes mate?”

Azra pulled Junkrat by the leather harness on his chest, lowering him enough so she could be face to face with him.

“Don’t try to mess with me. If you do, you’re gonna get clapped. Got it memorized?”  
“Y-yessir... I mean, yes ma’am”

He wasn’t really sure about what “getting clapped” meant exactly, but he didn’t want to find out - to be honest, he didn’t even think about betraying his new friend in the first place.  
Azra released him and started to walk towards a chain of mountains in the distance.

”That’s Mount Mufara. There are many natural springs we can get potable water from and plenty animals we can hunt to eat. If you are too weak to come along, wait here and I’ll be back”  
“Don’t worry, I can handle it!”  
“Good”

The weather was finally cooling a bit, and Jamison could now appreciate the beautiful landscape, now tinted of warm orange and pink hues.

“By the way... What are you running from, uh... Azra?”  
“My past”

**END OF CHAPTER | NOTES: ___________________________**

* Since this is set before the main OW events and this Junkrat is younger, he still has both arms!  
* Azra speaks Italian, English (with a strong accent), Sicilian dialect and Maltese. Also this is how she looks like::  
  
Fun fact! If Azra was a canon character in Overwatch she’d be voiced by Nicki Minaj. That’s how I always imagined her (English) voice anyways so now you know how she sounds. :9 (Esp. with the tone/attitude she has in “Barbie Tingz” and “I Am Your Leader”) I will try to add more illustrations if possible! Otherwise you can find them on my Tumblr. :D

[1] “Who are you? What are you doing here?”  
[2] “Sigh, you’re dumb”  
[3] “Typical American, you think that everything outside your country is funny/weird”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junkrat and Azra find a place to rest for the night and talk for a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also! I finally made an illustration to show how Azra looks like: https://albarquq.tumblr.com/image/182594481507

"Hey, any chance you know where we are?”  
“Well, you’re in Southern Italy. Sicily, to be exact” 

After a sneaky, more careful look, Jamison noticed Azra wasn’t really angry, her lip corners just pointed down naturally - that, along with that eyebrows’ style, gave her a fairly serious expression by default. 

“So... Is this your birthplace or somethin’?”  
“Yeah. I’m Sicilian-Maltese, actually. Look, let’s keep chit-chat for later, ok? The path to the mountain is long”

Luckily, they could catch some bushmeat and replenish their water supplies along the way before the setting sun’s light was replaced by the dark blue veil of the night. The two settled in the middle of a clearing, now sitting one in front of the other, separated by the bonfire they started to cook their food.

The light coming from the fire further emphasized Azra’s facial traits, from her narrow aquiline nose to her high cheekbones. If Junkrat didn’t dare to look at her, she didn’t shy away a all from looking at him. Infact, she was staring quite insistently into his eyes. 

“Do you think I didn’t see you oogling earlier? What were you looking at?”   
“Oh I... I really like your hair. Those curls, mate!”

He smiled nervously. Unable to look into her eyes, he stared at her broad shoulders; Azra averted her stare as well, clearly surprised about the compliment.

“Thanks. People always tell me to straighten them... But I prefer my natural look” - she shook her head, making the hair bounce lightly - “So... What’s the situation in Australia, Jamison?”  
“Well, it’s complicated mate... The Outback’s a mess, especially since the explosion caused by the Australian Liberation Front”  
“What happened?”  
“They just wanted to take back what the damn bots took away from us. I kinda sympathize with their cause y’know”

At the mention of the word “bots”, Azra’s expression became vacant. She stood up, took out a portable tent from her backpack, unfolded it and started to set it up. 

“I think I’m going to sleep”  
“... Nice gear there mate” - said Junkrat, surprised by her sudden reaction.  
“Thanks. My family...” - she took a small pause to take a deep breath - “My family saved a lot of money to buy it. We never got to use this tent as much as we wanted” - her tone was cold and emotionless. 

Jamison took out his tent too (an old, hole-ridden one) and began to work on it, thoughtfull: seems like he wasn’t the only one with a dislike for Omnics. 

“Well mate, g’night then”  
“Goodnight”


End file.
